


The Winding Roads of an Uncanny Friendship

by TotteringTrain



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, a bit of angst and maybe dark humor?, and so is bertl, armin is a baby nerd, dad erwin, friendship aruberu, might up to teen for later chapters, pretty slow build, shadows au if that even exists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-09 13:19:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1984440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotteringTrain/pseuds/TotteringTrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-TEMPORARY HIATUS-<br/>There were humans, and there were Others.<br/>This is the tale of a boy who happened to meet a very peculiar one, and the events that occurred afterwards.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Winding Roads of an Uncanny Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic here and comments would be greatly appreciated :)  
> The story is set in a sort of alternate canon where Titans don't exist. The timeline is about the same, though.  
> Not sure if I'll update this anytime soon. I've been kinda busy lately, but I'll try to upload a new chapter whenever I have the time.

"I don't believe I've met you before," said the golden-haired child, gripping the encyclopedia in his arms. He stared at the tall, gaunt figure in front of him.

 

He had gone to his favorite tree to read as usual- a fairly large oak hidden under the dense canopy of Shiganshina Woods. It was nice and shady, with just enough light to make out the smallest of words. (He had been reprimanded for going there, once, by his grandfather, for fear that he might spoil his eyes, but that was before he had passed away.)

 

But there were often Others by that tree, slinking furtively across the bark and roots, then down into the shadows on the ground. While moving around, the Others were nothing but shapeless phantoms, pitch-black apparitions that could slip into the tiniest crack of darkness and disappear. Only in the light could you see their true forms- the ghostly shells of former human beings; hollow souls with no heart of their own. They did nothing but lament their terrible fates, engulfing any who dared to listen in a cloud of negativity. If a human stayed around the Others for too long, his heart would eventually stop beating, leaving behind his empty soul. That was the way they transformed people into one of them- most Others didn't do this on purpose, but of course, there were always the ones who did.

 

This tall creature standing before the little boy- he was sure it was an Other, or it wouldn't be encased in shadow- looked sadly at him and began to speak.

 

"N-No, I doubt we've ever met," it said, in a voice that sounded very far away. "I'm new to these woods, after all."

 

"When did you come here?" He was not afraid, for he held the Wings of Freedom- so he would never become one of them, not ever.

 

"Oh, two days ago, perhaps. I-I'm not too sure- time hardly means anything to me now."

 

"I see." The boy plopped down with his encyclopedia, making himself comfortable among the fallen branches and dried leaves. He began to read about all sorts of things- snow-capped mountains and scorching hot deserts and rivers of flaming water. He was fascinated by the world, by how it moved and breathed and came to life. He had realized long ago, all of a sudden, that the Earth was unimaginably big, so big that no man could possibly discover the entirety of it in a single lifetime. That was when he started pestering his guardian, Mr. Smith, into giving him all his world manuscripts and geography reference books. (This was met with much enthusiasm on Mr. Smith's part as well, and very soon the boy was buried nose-deep in things to read.)

 

Thoroughly engrossed in his book, he did not notice Other creeping silently towards him.

 

Suddenly, there was a loud _zap_ and a shower of sparks flew into the air. The Other cringed and drew back into the shade, nervously eyeing the glowing metal wings on the boy's neck. This made him snap back into reality, turning to face the figure hunched over beside the tree. He could see it rather clearly now, a gangly young man with short black hair- so _it_ was a _he_. His face was buried in his oversized hands; heavy-lidded eyes peeking through slender fingers.

 

"I-I was just trying t-to see what you're reading…" His voice sounded closer, more masculine. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean any harm. Really."

 

Hearing this, the boy relaxed a little. He set the book down and fixed the Other with a long hard stare. His irises were a dull green-gray, and he had a rather large nose. Shyly, he removed his hands from his face and looked away.

 

The boy regarded this action with mild interest- never had he seen such a quiet, timid Other. Most of them darted about the woods, paying little attention to a child- a _mere child!_ \- preferring instead to rush around miserably. And this was also the first time he had seen an Other who liked to read.

 

"Well, okay, but if you try anything funny you'll get hurt," he said, holding up the Wings of Freedom. It didn't look like much, really- a tiny shield pendant with a pair of black and white wings soldered on top. A faint glimmer of light emanated from it, indicating that an Other was nearby. He held the enchanted ornament to the Other's face, causing him to shrink deeper into the darkness, until most of his body was submerged in a dark spot on the tree.

 

"B-But…" the Other stammered, " Can I read with you? Please?" He tugged nervously at the collar of his white shirt.

 

"...Alright. Fine," sighed the boy, turning back to his book. He loosened his grip on the pendant and let it fall, much to the Other's relief. At the boy's approval, he slowly moved out of the shadows, hovering above him.

 

The two of them stayed like this for a long time, their eyes never leaving the words on the pages for too long. Occasionally they would break off and talk about whatever topic they were on- it seems that the Other had a rather wide knowledge of precious stones, which he readily explained to the boy; though he was clueless about the various types of plants and trees. The boy in turn told him what he knew about nature. Time flew, as it always does when one enjoys themselves. Soon the sky turned a magnificent orange-red, a sign that it was time for the boy to go home. And so, he shut the book gently and bade the Other good-bye. (He usually ignored them, but this one was exceptional.) As he left, the Other called after him-

 

"Wait, I forgot! W-What's your name, if you don't mind-"

 

"Armin. And yours?"

 

"You can call me Bertholdt...I guess," he muttered. Fancy asking for a human's name!

 

"Berth--wha..?" The little boy had trouble pronouncing his name.

 

"It's _Bertholdt_ , but Bertl will do," he corrected.

 

"Okay. So see you tomorrow, Bertl- I mean , will you be here tomorrow?"

 

The Other gave a slight nod, and a bright smile lit Armin's face.

 

As he skipped home, he pondered the idea of meeting the Other again. Sure, he was more than happy to have a reading partner, but interaction with Others was mostly considered taboo. _I won't tell anyone just yet,_ he thought, _it's too risky._ And anyway, all they did was read together for a couple of hours.

 

But oddly, he felt a sort of wonder, like the kind you get at the start of a new friendship.

 

He decided to stop thinking about his strange encounter and hurry home.

**Author's Note:**

> (Sorry if it's too bland. I suck at writing, especially multi-chapter fics.)  
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading this.  
> Peace out.


End file.
